Sales of prescription eyewear over the Internet have been limited in large part because users are unable to actually try on frames before purchasing. Systems are being developed to “virtually” try on different frames using a digital image of the user and digital images of the frames. The user typically uploads a digital image of the user's face. The user then selects different pairs of frames to “try on.” Once the pair of frames is selected, an image of the selected frames is superimposed on the stored facial image. This combined image is then presented to the user so that the user can see his/her own image wearing the selected frames.
Another element in purchasing glasses over the Internet is preparation of the eyeglass lenses. The lenses are held spaced apart laterally with the frames. An important aspect of preparing eyeglass lenses is the pupillary distance, which is also referred to as inter-pupillary distance. This distance is the measurement from pupil to pupil and is required to properly prepare lenses for a particular set of frames.
Outside of Internet retail websites that sell glasses, the pupillary distance for the user is easily measured upon examining the user at any physical location where the user purchases glasses. In Internet-based sales, however, the Internet retail website must ask the user for his/her pupillary distance just as the website asks for the user's vision correction prescription. Since the pupillary distance measurement is not typically provided by eye care professionals as part of the user's prescription, it can be difficult for the user to understand and even obtain this measurement for submission at the website.
In many cases, users are intimidated with having to measure their own pupillary distance or with having to contact a physical retail site or their eye care professional in order to obtain this measurement. Opportunities exist for obtaining the pupillary distance measurement in ways outside of contacting a physical eyeglass retail site or eye care professional.